About Kay Ryan:
Ryan was born in San Jose California on September 27, 1945 and grew up in the San Joaquin Valley and Mojave Desert. She graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles with a Bachelor's and Master's Degree. Her profession for more than 30 years was part-time teaching remedial English at the College of Marin in Kentfield, California. When she's relaxing from her job, she enjoys mouuntain bike riding and freeing her mind by going on relxing strolls.
Ryan, Kay. The Niagra River. Canada: Grove Press, 2005. Ryan, Kay. Say Uncle. Canada: Grove Press, 2005.
Books Written by Kay Ryan:
Flamingo Watching
The Niagra River
Say Uncle
Strangely Marked Metal
Dragon Acts to Dragon Ends
Elephant Rocks
Believe it or Not
Hide and Seek It’s hard not
to jump out
instead of
waiting to be
found. It’s
hard to be
alone so long
and then hear
someone come
around. It’s
like some form
of skin’s developed
in the air
that, rather
than have torn,
you tear.
Analysis:
I think it's saying that people find it harder to do what you are supposed to do, then to break the rules.
When she says "It's like some form of skin's developed in the air that rather than have torn, you tear," it means that people would rather take the easy way out.
Turtle Who would be a turtle who could help it?
A barely mobile hard roll, a four-oared helmet,
she can ill afford the chances she must take
in rowing toward the grasses that she eats.
Her track is graceless, like dragging
a packing-case places, and almost any slope
defeats her modest hopes. Even being practical,
she's often stuck up to the axle on her way
to something edible. With everything optimal,
she skirts the ditch which would convert
her shell into a serving dish. She lives
below luck-level, never imagining some lottery
will change her load of pottery to wings.
Her only levity is patience,
the sport of truly chastened things.
Analysis:
The poem "Turtle" is basically saying that who would really be a turtle if they had the choice. Turtles have so many daily troubles that the human race takes for granted. This poem reveals turtles for what they really are... fighters. :)
Some Awards Kay Ryan has won:
Fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Ingram Merrill Foundation
The Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize
Home to Roost The chickens
are circling and
blotting out the
day. The sun is
bright, but the
chickens are in
the way. Yes,
the sky is dark
with chickens,
dense with them.
They turn and
then they turn
again. These
are the chickens
you let loose
one at a time
and small—
various breeds.
Now they have
come home
to roost—all
the same kind
at the same speed.
Analysis:
I think that the chickens in the poem represent secrets. You pile up more and more secrets in your life and soon they can get in the way of you having a good time and enjoying life. They will all come back at once until you can't stand it anymore and you can just burst making everything worse.
Ryan was born in San Jose California on September 27, 1945 and grew up in the San Joaquin Valley and Mojave Desert. She graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles with a Bachelor's and Master's Degree. Her profession for more than 30 years was part-time teaching remedial English at the College of Marin in Kentfield, California. When she's relaxing from her job, she enjoys mouuntain bike riding and freeing her mind by going on relxing strolls.
Websites
"Kay Ryan (1945-) Biography". Poetry Foundation. March 2, 2010 http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poet.html?id=80608.
"About the Poet Laureate". Library of Congress. March 3, 2010 http://www.loc.gov/poetry/laureate_current.html.
"Google Images". Google. March 5, 2010 http://images.google.com/imghp?hl=en&tab=wi.
Books
Ryan, Kay. The Niagra River. Canada: Grove Press, 2005.
Ryan, Kay. Say Uncle. Canada: Grove Press, 2005.
Flamingo Watching
The Niagra River
Say Uncle
Strangely Marked Metal
Dragon Acts to Dragon Ends
Elephant Rocks
Believe it or Not
It’s hard not
to jump out
instead of
waiting to be
found. It’s
hard to be
alone so long
and then hear
someone come
around. It’s
like some form
of skin’s developed
in the air
that, rather
than have torn,
you tear.
I think it's saying that people find it harder to do what you are supposed to do, then to break the rules.
When she says "It's like some form of skin's developed in the air that rather than have torn, you tear," it means that people would rather take the easy way out.
Who would be a turtle who could help it?
A barely mobile hard roll, a four-oared helmet,
she can ill afford the chances she must take
in rowing toward the grasses that she eats.
Her track is graceless, like dragging
a packing-case places, and almost any slope
defeats her modest hopes. Even being practical,
she's often stuck up to the axle on her way
to something edible. With everything optimal,
she skirts the ditch which would convert
her shell into a serving dish. She lives
below luck-level, never imagining some lottery
will change her load of pottery to wings.
Her only levity is patience,
the sport of truly chastened things.
The poem "Turtle" is basically saying that who would really be a turtle if they had the choice. Turtles have so many daily troubles that the human race takes for granted. This poem reveals turtles for what they really are... fighters. :)
Fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Ingram Merrill Foundation
The Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize
The chickens
are circling and
blotting out the
day. The sun is
bright, but the
chickens are in
the way. Yes,
the sky is dark
with chickens,
dense with them.
They turn and
then they turn
again. These
are the chickens
you let loose
one at a time
and small—
various breeds.
Now they have
come home
to roost—all
the same kind
at the same speed.
I think that the chickens in the poem represent secrets. You pile up more and more secrets in your life and soon they can get in the way of you having a good time and enjoying life. They will all come back at once until you can't stand it anymore and you can just burst making everything worse.